ALDHA Gathering?

[Guthook]

I haven't noticed this mentioned here yet, but is anyone going to the ALDHA Gathering next weekend? I knew I'd be nearby, so I made plans in the spring to definitely head over to North Adams, and I even signed up to give a few presentations (one on the New England Trail from two years ago, one on the Pacific Crest Trail from summer 2010). If any VFTTers are there, it'd be cool to meet.

Never been to one of these Gatherings before, either, so I'm not sure what to expect. Anybody have experience from past Gatherings?

Cheers,
Ryan

 

[Jay H]

OK, having never heard of the group, I'm close enough but I am going to be away next weekend...

If you're looking for a place to camp out, there is a park called Historic Valley Park in North Adams that has some decent wilderness camping spots that nobody uses that is just up the hill from MCLA, you could almost roll out of bed, down the hill and run into MCLA from there...

If things change, it sounds somewhat interesting..

Jay

 

[Raven]

Never been to one of these Gatherings before, either, so I'm not sure what to expect. Anybody have experience from past Gatherings?

Cheers,
Ryan

I went to one about 1999 in Hanover, NH and camped out nearby. It was a good experience to go to hear people talk about their long distance backpacking trips. I was planing an AT thru-hike and got some good info from that perspective about planning, light weight stuff, etc...There was a schedule of classes during the day like at most conferences. You had to pick between a few going on at the same time. There were places to buy trail-related things as well. Of course, this was a long time ago...

People were friendly and the friend I was with and I met more than a few people - most of us were camped nearby in the same place so had fires late into the night. Fun time and good options for seminars/talks/slide shows to go see. Good luck in your talk - hope it's still a cool thing. Random memory: Warren Doyle, longtime AT hiker may have started the group. He was at the one I went to..I think he's hiked the AT like 16 times IIRC.

 

[Guthook]

Sounds pretty cool to me. Scott, one of my friends went to the Gatherings around 2000 and 2001 as well, and he said it's like a much more relaxed version of Trail Days (which is the crazy drunken mayhem down south on the AT). I like mellow gatherings. I'm quite looking forward to this. Presentations by Andrew Skurka and other bigtime hikers, info booths from lots of trail clubs, possible gear vendors... yeah, I'm pretty excited.

 

[Peaks]

This will be my fourth gathering. Great group of like minded backpackers. It always gets me inspired for my next great adventure. I'm definately looking forward to it!

 

[Guthook]

Great! Peaks, maybe I'll see you there

 

[Raven]

Sounds pretty cool to me. Scott, one of my friends went to the Gatherings around 2000 and 2001 as well, and he said it's like a much more relaxed version of Trail Days (which is the crazy drunken mayhem down south on the AT). I like mellow gatherings. I'm quite looking forward to this. Presentations by Andrew Skurka and other bigtime hikers, info booths from lots of trail clubs, possible gear vendors... yeah, I'm pretty excited.

It was absolutely a mellow gathering. I've never been to trail days but from what I've seen and heard, I'd agree with your friend. I think ALDHA is generally more tame.

 

[GBKDalton]

Let me make a weak defense for trail days and say it's usually only crazy drunken mayhem out in tent city at night.

Edited to Add: that's because people are too hungover during the day to move.

 

[ChacoTaco]

ALDHA is generally an older crowd than TD's as well. Its actually more centered on hiking

 

[DSettahr]

I wonder if anyone has pointed out to them that they misspelled "Gathering" in the url...

 

[Peaks]

Url

I just sent webmaster Bill a quick email about it. Hey, the misspelled version works, so no big deal.

 

[Peaks]

Url

I dropped an email to webmaster Sprained Rice, and here's his reply:

believe it or not, in 1995, file names could not be longer than 8 characters.

Technology has changed!

 

[DSettahr]

I dropped an email to webmaster Sprained Rice, and here's his reply:

believe it or not, in 1995, file names could not be longer than 8 characters.

Technology has changed!

Makes sense. Visually, that website is a total blast from the past!

 

[DougPaul]

believe it or not, in 1995, file names could not be longer than 8 characters.

Not if one used a real operating system...

Doug

 

[Peaks]

Not if one used a real operating system...

Doug

If you are familiar with the organization, then you know that it's basic and no frills. Dues currently are $10/year. They just voted to double the cost of the annual gathering from $10 to $20. Hard to beat that. So, like most volunteer organizations, you do the best with what you have. And they do very well IMHO.

And yes, I did not a conversation with the webmaster about some upgrading.